Factors influencing late-payment of creditors in the South African Social Security Agency in the NorthWest Province

Abstract

The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) Act No. 9 of 2004 as signed by the President of the Republic of South Africa , has the following objectives: to be responsible for the administration and payment of social assistance to eligible persons both young and old; provide for the prospective administration and payment of social security by SASSA and the provision of services related thereto; and all matters connected . These services require that SASSA, on behalf of the ministry of social development, administer services to members of the community either through individuals like medical doctors or companies like municipalities , to which the 30 days dateline of payment is often not met. The main aim of the study was to explore the causes of late payment of creditors by SASSA. In trying to achieve the above aim, a descriptive research design was adopted . In applying this design , a quantitative approach was implemented in data collection and analysis. Both primary and secondary data were consulted because very little or no research has previously been conducted in this area. Empirical data was collected through structured questionnaires that were sent to respondents through email and fax as this involved the entire North-West province. The data were analysed through the use of SPSS version 24 whereby the raw data were captured into the software under different themes and categories as per the different objectives. The findings from the study reveal a variety of reasons relating to late the payment of creditors by SASSA that were categorised into two sections, firstly, creditors motivated reasons and secondly, SASSA motivated reasons. On the side of Creditors, it was revealed during the empirical study that the delay in payment often occurred due to the delay in the submission of invoices by creditors and the submission of incomplete banking details by creditors as the most disturbing issues in facilitating invoices. It was also discovered that in other instances, there were inconsistencies in the supplied details of creditors. On the side of SASSA, the findings from the empirical study reveal that the main challenge encountered in the facilitation of invoices was as a result of a highly centralised payment system. With this system, it takes a very long time for documents to be processed at the local and district levels before being submitted at the regional office where payment is made.